Sunday, April 2, 2017

Paris to Swiss Alps: Strasbourg (4/2/2017)

Sunday, April 2, 2017
This morning we were docked in Kehl, Germany, with France just across the Rhine River. Our included tour started with a motor coach ride to and through outer Strasbourg. We did the Strasbourg City Tour in 2014.
This time I knew to sit on the left side of the bus to see the storks in their nests in the trees along the Boulevard de l'Orangerie.

Ciconia ciconia/White Storks in the Platanus orientalis/
Oriental Plane trees of Strasbourg; they have become
a symbol representing the tenacity, loyalty
and fidelity of the region’s inhabitants

The male storks return first at this time of year to
reclaim and repair the home he and his spouse left behind,
after a migration from as far away as South Africa

It is said, if a stork is flying above your house, then a baby is on the way. We heard two versions of the joke about the stork family recounting their day: mother had delivered a baby girl to a city dweller, father had delivered a baby boy to a farm, and the smart-aleck son had flown over a convent to scare the nuns.
Strasbourg is the seat of the European Parliament and we drove through the Quartier Européen/European Quarter where many pan-European organizations are located.

Palais de l'Europe/Palace of Europe (1976-1977, designed by
Henry Bernard) that houses the Conseil de l'Europe/Council of Europe

The ship-like "bow" of the Cour Européenne des Droits de l'Homme/
European Court of Human Rights (1991-1994, designed by Richard Rogers)

Louise Weiss Building (1995-1999) houses the Parlement Européen/
European Parliament; the building is meant to appear unfinished as nations
join (and leave); European Union institutions are divided among the cities
of Strasbourg, Brussels, Luxembourg, and Frankfurt

Ligne indéterminée/Indeterminate Line (1990 by Bernar Venet)
in Place de Bordeaux (the square is named in honor of the French
city of Bordeaux for accepting refugees from Strasbourg
during the Franco-Prussian War (1870)

Synagogue de la Paix/Synagogue of Peace
(1954-1958, designed by Claude Meyer-Lévy)

Place de la République with the Le monument aux morts de Strasbourg/
Monument to the Dead of Strasbourg (1936, by Léon-Ernest Drivier);
the woman represents Mother Strasbourg and she holds her two sons,
one German and one French but no longer in uniform to distinguish them,
and at the moment of death they reach to join hands

Strasbourg and the Alsace region had been under German rule, then French rule; back and forth for centuries (it has been part of France since after World War II).

Église réformée Saint-Paul/Reformed Church of
St Paul (1892-1897, designed by Louis Muller
in Neo-Gothic style)

The motor coaches dropped off most of the people at Petite-France, and then went to drop off the Gentle Group (a group of those who benefit from a shorter, less strenuous walking tour) closer to the Strasbourg Cathedral. Because we had done the Strasbourg tour already, we went off on our own.

We saw a couple of these mangled bicycles...

Chocolate art

Kugelhof, specialty cakes of the Alsace, on the left,
are shaped by molds and can be sweet or savory;
it is said they resemble either the turbans of the Three Magi,
or the hats of the Strasbourg parliamentarians of medieval times

Chocolate Easter lollipops

Place des Tripiers/Square of Tripes, formerly
the site of the poor man's market

Window boxes decorated for Easter and Spring

Maison Kammerzell (dating as far back as 1427), a
merchant's home above and shops in the arcades below

Maison Kammerzell detail

Maison Kammerzell door

Rue des Orfèvres (KSS)

More Easter decorations

Église du Temple-Neuf/The New Church
(1874-1877, designed by Emile Salomon in
Neo-Romanesque style) is a Lutheran church (KSS)

Unique façade (c. 1911),
now the Consulate of Peru

The birthplace of Jean-Frédéric Oberlin
(1740-1826), a Protestant pastor who worked to
improve the welfare of his parishioners, both
spiritually and materially, and is considered
the precursor of social Christianity in France;
Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH is named in his honor

Painted façade

Place Broglie (KSS)

Banque de France (1925-1927 in Louis XV style), on the spot where
Rouget de Lisle sang the "Marseillaise" for the first time on April 26, 1792

Across Place Broglie is the Hôtel de Hanau (1731-1736, designed by
Joseph Massol) that was used as the Hôtel de ville/City Hall 1805-1976

Strasbourg tram

Obelisk (1951 by Georges Saupique) commemorates
WWII General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque
and the Liberation of Strasbourg in November 1944

Opéra du Rhin/Opera of the Rhine
(1804-1822 in French Neoclassical style)

Since we actually saw the back of the old City Hall
on Place Broglie, we attempted to see the front,
but the gate was closed

Same with the Hôtel du Gouverneur Militaire/
Military Governor's Residence (c. 1760)

Street names were in French and German, and the two
names did not always mean the same

L'Archevêché/Office of the Archbishop (1724-1732,
designed by Robert de Cotte in Baroque style)

Hôtel de Klinglin (1732-1736, rebuilt 1871 after 1870 fire)
was designed by Joseph Massol, who also designed the
old City Hall and must have designed the Office of the
Archbishop, since they all look the same!

Villa Greiner (1884, designed by S Revel in Neoclassical style) is thehome of the Musée Tomi Ungerer-Centre international de l'illustration/Tomi Ungerer Museum and International Center of Illustration

A photo of the tramway to show the grass that
is grown on the track bed to minimize noise
in the city and for aesthetics

Museums in Strasbourg have free admission the first Sunday of the month. We went to the Tomi Ungerer Museum. Tomi Ungerer was born in Strasbourg in 1931, and attended the Strasbourg School of Decorative Arts. In 1956 he moved to New York City, and had his first children's book, The Mellops Go Flying, published in 1957. He contributed cartoons to New York magazines, and created posters against racial segregation and the Vietnam War. He now lives in Ireland, but donated his work and toy collection to Strasbourg Museums. This museum was established in 2007.

Sculpture of Tomi Ungerer (2011)

The ground floor displayed the antique toy collection of Tomi Ungerer, and had a special exibit on children's drawings.

Part of the antique toy collection, including the rare
model battleship "Oregon" from the prestigious brand Marklin

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About Me

Once upon a time a family of three (or of many more if you count the blended family) tried blogging to get their numerous photos out there for people to see...
We love to travel, to see nature (geography, flora and fauna), and to learn about history and culture and how they are manifested in architecture. We love to try new foods and sometimes new activities.